STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Kelly · Hermes

manipulating BCP

Rica · Kenneth Cole

As long as you don't make a habit of it, you'll be fine. However, check with your doctor first. When I was on OrthoCyclen I could skip a month no problem but my friend, who was on Ortho Tricyclen, could not. Our doctor said her dose was too low...?

luckylily · Gucci

Hmmm...I've never heard of taking just a few days from the third week of the next pack. I believe skipping the 4th week (usually a placebo week) and starting right away with week one of the next pack is more common. Call you doc or ask your pharmacist.

NCshopper · Hermes

luckylily wrote:

Hmmm...I've never heard of taking just a few days from the third week of the next pack. I believe skipping the 4th week (usually a placebo week) and starting right away with week one of the next pack is more common. Call you doc or ask your pharmacist.

This is what I do when I need to. Since you're on the pill, there's no real reason you even need to have your period, so you might as well skip the whole thing instead of just delaying it.

thrillme · BCBG

I have done this twice where I just started the next pack and skipped my period completely. Once for my wedding and once for a vacation.. it worked great and no period in sight the only thing that happened to me is my next period was horrible.... the cramps were horrific and I couldn't even get out of bed. As others have said it is best to check with your doctor or pharmacist though as everyone is different.

Kelly · Hermes

I guess I should've mentioned, I'm on Ortho TriCyclen...am I right in thinking that I can't just skip the placebo week on a triphasic pill?

Elle · Hermes

Well, you could try, but it might not work . They don't prescribe tri-phasic pills if you intend to use them to skip periods because of the variation in the hormone levels week to week make it harder for your body to do. I'd say skipping your period completely this month would be better than snatching pills from other weeks though.

I'd call your doctor and just ask what they'd recommend. People do this all the time so it's not a big deal, but maybe they have another suggestion for you. They might even be able to give you a weeks worth of pills out of a sample pack - that way you could delay by a whole week, and still not mess up the day of the week you currently start your pill pack on.